You know how you get hooked by the lead character in a mystery series and then sometimes have to wait a year for the next book? Not a problem for readers of local author Laine Boyd, who recently published a trifecta—three mysteries all at once—in her Piper Jewell Diaries series.
Boyd started the series after the pandemic began and has since completed and published Diamond in the Rough, Emerald Green Envy, and Pearl Most Precious. The new mysteries are cross-genre, with elements of suspense, romance, and humor. Murders are off-stage in Boyd’s books: no gore or sexual violence. (Her business card reads “Killing People Tastefully.”) These days, Boyd writes from a pastoral home in Wildwood. We caught up with her over lunch near her childhood home in DeMun.
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What prompted you to write this trilogy?
A terrifying nightmare early in the pandemic, around spring 2020. It shook me awake. I lay in bed, my heart pounding and my body drenched in cold sweat. This nightmare has been recurring since I was a teenager and a strange man stalked me. What I usually do is mentally rewrite the night terror to conclude with a happy ending. Then go back to sleep. This time, I thought it through and realized, This would be a pretty good book. I looked at the clock. It was 3 a.m. My husband, Bryan, was asleep, so I tiptoed from the bedroom and hit my computer. I couldn’t type fast enough. One month later, I’d written 93,000 words of Diamond in the Rough, the first in the trilogy.
Who is Piper Jewell? She’s one plucky protagonist.
Piper is a 16-year-old runaway from St. Louis, escaping criminal relatives, especially an uncle who abuses her sexually. She fends for herself by stealing, safe cracking, pickpocketing, and cheating at poker, all of which she learned from her family. Good life skills every girl on the run should know. Laughs. She stows away on a cruise ship bound for London. There, she makes off with a sizable heist and has to hide out. Piper escapes to a rural village in Herefordshire, south of London. A very kind, elderly couple take her in, and Piper heals under their care. She wants to do better. But old habits die hard.
Herefordshire is known for being pastoral, with good conservation areas. Sounds a bit like Wildwood, and the wildlife shows you and your husband see in your backyard.
We see deer, red fox, and gray fox meander around. Turkeys waddle about. I saw a seconds-old fawn being licked from its placenta by the doe. Just walking around, we’ve seen badgers and coyotes. Friends and neighbors have spotted a Missouri brown bear and a mountain lion. In the air fly birds of prey — eagle, hawks, and turkey vultures.
The quiet life suits you, but it doesn’t last long with Piper.
The girl just can’t keep out of trouble. Laughs. She unwittingly becomes involved in murders. After she settles down in Cornwall, more trouble ensues.
What appealed to you about out-of-the-way Cornwall?
During the pandemic lockdown, Bryan and I conducted armchair research. We became addicted to Escape to the Country. [A British house-hunting series filled with local history and customs.] Cornwall appealed to me. The scenes of the elderly couple’s house are taken directly from that program. I love everything I’ve seen about Cornwall and its beautiful coastline, which combines sandy beaches with the high rocks. Piper’s home is just outside Land’s End, with its spectacular sea view.
How does your background help you with research?
I’m very grateful for my Rolodex of experts. I know who to call. I worked for 25 years as a paralegal for a huge law firm. One of my books is called Shakespeare’s Directive. [The playwright said, “Let’s kill all the lawyers.”] My father-in-law was a bomb and arson detective with St. Louis County Police, and I know many fine investigators.
You followed a different path to publishing than the proverbial MFA or journalism.
As a child, I wrote because I suffered from debilitating shyness. My teachers at Captain School [then called DeMun] only knew I existed because I’d complete the classwork in the first five minutes and earned 100s. They didn’t know what to do with me.
I wanted a dog so badly, that in first grade when we had an assignment to write a story, everyone else turned in one to two pages. I turned in 10 about a little girl who begged her parents for a dog. They said no, but she finds one and hides him in her room. Their house catches on fire, and the dog saves them all. My parents relented, and I got my dog. I learned very young the power of the pen.
I didn’t start publishing until 2014. While I loved Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha Christie, I didn’t much like the sex, violence, and foul language in other books. I thought I could do better. My first book took 20 years. My husband asked, “When are you going to stop ghostwriting for other people and finish your own book?” I sat down and did it. That was Unharmonious. The first publisher I sent it to sent me a contract. Since then, it’s been a book a year.
What happened with your stalker? Did the police ever catch him?
At the time, I only told my best friend, and we decided not to tell our parents because they’d ground us. Teenager brains.
The Piper Jewell Diaries are available on Amazon and by order at most local bookstores can. Boyd’s upcoming appearances are on her Facebook page. Find her this weekend Celebrate Wildwood, Sept. 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
